The weekend is here!

Wow, what a week! We hope that you’re all coping well during the current national lockdown – remember to look after yourselves and each other, and check in on your friends, family and loved ones.  

Just because we’re in lockdown, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!  

Here are some ideas for this weekend: 

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“My Bristol community has really come together during this time”

Hi everyone, my name is Michelle and I’m a second year Civil Engineering student.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would finish the rest of my academic year online in self isolation because of a global pandemic, but if there is anything these past two months have taught me it’s that, every cloud has a silver lining. From the weekly zoom calls/meetings to the increased online group forums, my Bristol community has really come together during this time.

 

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My experience of lockdown in Bristol

Hi I’m Gurjot and I’m studying Development and Security (MSc).

When life throws stones at you, you have two options. Either you can choose to get hurt by their crushing impact or if you are bold enough, you can collect those stones and build strong bridges. The Coronavirus lockdown is a challenging time but I hope to use this time to try new things and gain perspective on what is important in life.

With these positive thoughts in my mind, I decided to not to travel back to India and stay here in Bristol. Reflecting upon my time in lockdown so far, the main things I have discovered are:

Learnt new skills

Apart from completing my university assignments, I have tried to utilise my lockdown time in Bristol to polish my culinary skills, hone my guitar lessons, improve my cyber knowledge and write some new topics about life in my weekly diary.

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Senate House update from Julio (Bristol SU’s Union Affairs Officer)

A lot of things have changed very quickly in the last few weeks and months – and that has impacted all of us in lots of different ways.

We chat to Julio Mkok, Bristol SU’s Union Affairs Officer, about how the new spaces at Senate House are taking shape, why these spaces matter now more than ever, and tips for coping during lockdown.

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Bristol’s cultural scene goes digital!

Missing Bristol? Whether you have left Bristol or are here under lockdown you can still take virtual tours, join in live steams and access collections from some of the city’s iconic cultural venues.

There are lots of great resources and events that are accessible, right from your desktop or smart phone, to make you feel connected to our Bristol community, and beyond.

We have put together some of Bristol’s top cultural resources to access watch online:

1. University of Bristol Special Collections – This holds more 5km of books, archives, photographs, and artefacts dating from the eleventh to the twenty-first century. Visit the Online Archive Catalogue and explore what’s available.

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Ways to curb lockdown boredom

Hi guys, my name is Elaura and I’m a second year History student! Here are some of my tips and recommendations on how to stay productive and positive during the COVID 19 lockdown!

It’s now the third week of national lockdown from the COVID 19 pandemic and we’re all starting to become climatized to life indoors. At some point during this experience, we will all have days where we struggle a bit more and find it difficult to think positively and be productive. So, it’s important that we all look out for one another and find ways to make the long-haul of self-isolation manageable and enjoyable if we can help it. I’ve used this space to share some ideas on how to stay positive, things I’ve found to do with my household to pass the time, and things you can incorporate into your routine to boost productivity.

Things to try at home

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Self-Isolation: A final year’s guide to coping

Hello everyone, my name is Kiki and I’m a final year student at UOB. I’m writing this blog to reach out to students during isolation. I am sure that this is a very anxious and stressful time for many of you. Being a final year student, my whole education has been turned upside down and I have no choice but to try and respond to it in the calmest way possible.

I am sure many of you will have heard a lot of advice on ways to stay sane, so I have included general advice at the end for anyone interested. I’m hoping however, that if you’re reading this, you’ll gain an insight into something that may help you during these incredibly challenging times as these are some of the methods that are helping me to remain positive and calm.

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5 books to get you through isolation

Hi I’m Jini and I’m a first year English student.

As we all know, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. I’m sure we’ve all heard it a million times by now but just as a reminder, in keeping with NHS guidelines, it is imperative that we all, young and old, practice social distancing, self isolation and quarantining where necessary in order to stop the spread of this virus and return back to our normal lives as soon as possible. But of course doing the right thing isn’t always easy and staying indoors for such a long period of time can be very hard for most of us. With most schools out for the term, we’ve got a lot of free time on our hands, a great period to reflect on the year so far, pick up a new hobby, connect with our friends and family…. At this time it’s really important that we try to come up with fun, innovative ways to keep busy, keep healthy and keep active while also getting the sufficient amounts of rest I’m sure we all need.

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How to look after your wellbeing during isolation

We understand that the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is extremely worrying. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and that’s why we have put together a few self-care tips for you during this time. 


Look after yourself 

Whilst staying at home, it is important that you take care of yourself and try to remain as healthy as possible: 

  • Try to maintain a routine and avoid sleeping too much. 
  • Exercise daily if you are feeling well enough – there are many home workouts available online, including these from Les Mills which are free for University Sports Centre members. 
  • Try and get some fresh air outside if you are able to. 
  • Stay hydrated and eat well. BBC Good Food have many recipe ideas. 
  • Avoid ‘fake news’ about the current situation. Instead keep up to date via our webpage, Public Health England and the NHS. 
  • If social media is making you feel anxious, take a break from it. 
  • Keep your room and home clean and tidy. A clutter free environment can help towards a healthy mind. 

Supporting those around you 

We can make a big difference by supporting the people around us and showing solidarity with our community: 

  • Check your phone list and see if there’s someone you have been meaning to catch up with for a while. Now could be the time to reach out to them. 
  • Treat everyone with empathy and compassion and come together to look out for others. 


Social distancing doesn’t mean you cannot be social  

Whether you are currently in Bristol or at home, it is really important that you keep in contact with family and friends to stay positive. Here are a few ideas for you: 

  • Video call friends and/or family (e.g. during meal times so you can eat together). 
  • Netflix party is a new way for you to watch series and films with loved ones. 
  • Create a joint playlist which you can listen to with friends at the same time. 
  • Join Facebook community groups for your local area and the SU’s online Living Room.
  • Follow Government guidance about social distancing – when this is all over, there will be time to get together. 


Wellbeing support 

If you need some support, here are a few resources: 

  • If you are worried about your studies or you feel you need help managing these changes, please contact our Wellbeing teams or email coronavirus-student@bristol.ac.uk. 
  • Talk Campus is an app which enables you to speak with fellow students from around the world for instant support day and night. 
  • Big White Wall is a digital support service you can access 24/7 and talk to others anonymously. 
  • Shout (crisis messenger) offers free mental health support. Text Bristol to 85258 to be connected to a trained volunteer. 
  • Mind have lots of useful tips if you are feeling anxious. 
  • Nilaari is a culturally appropriate counselling service providing help and support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people.

Keep up to date 

Would you like to share your tips for self-isolation? Have you got a stay at home goal? Know any tips for exercising in small spaces? Got great recipes for tinned food? We would love to hear from you! Get in contact at student-comms@bristol.ac.uk and you could feature in our next blog. 

 

Bored during lockdown? Try baking Elaura’s homemade ginger biscuits

Hi I’m Elaura and I am a second year History student.

As the pandemic of COVID-19 has trapped us indoors for the next few weeks, we should use this time to be creative, try new things and stay productive and positive. Ginger is supposed to be good at boosting your immune system, so I’ve had a go at making some simple ginger biscuits. They’re not perfect but taste pretty good and were fun to make, so if you like you can give them a go yourself by following this recipe.

Remember to take pictures of your creation and put them on your stories with the tag #UOBBakes !


What you’ll need:

  • 100g of butter
  • 75g of light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 100g golden syrup
  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 small egg yolk

Method:

  1. First, pre-heat your oven to 190C and line two baking trays with parchment to stop the biscuit dough from sticking.
  2. Add the butter to a saucepan and melt it over a low heat, stirring it slowly. Then add the sugar, fresh grated ginger and golden syrup to the mix and stir. Once stirred, leave to cool.
  3. In a bowl, sift the flour before added the ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda. Stir altogether.
  4. Add the mix from the saucepan into the bowl and stir. Add the egg yolk and then stir until it becomes a dough mix. TIP- If the mixture feels too runny or sticky, then add flour until it forms more of a dough texture.
  5. Place flour on a countertop and roll the dough into small balls, of equal size in the flour. Press down on the balls to make a more disk shape but not completely flat.
  6. Place the prepared balls onto the baking tray and put them in the oven for 8-10 mins. Check after 6 mins to see if they are turning golden brown.
  7. TIP- to test if the biscuits are cooked, pierce the dough with a wooden skewer and if it comes out clean they are done.
  8. Place on cooling rack after they have cooked.